Automatic golf ball teeing device



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AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Filed Dec. 18, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2/v/v vel-:far Q/E '/VZEL 27a/*neg .Sept 15, 1942. J. MozEL. 2,295,599

AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Filed Dec. 18, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 wu. m/N/X//// //7 Ven/2f Patented Sept. l5, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE AUTOMATIC GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Joe Mozel, Portland, Oreg.

Application December 18, 1940, Serial No. 370,729

1i7 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for automatically teeing golf balls,and is particularly adapted to be used in the teaching and practicing ofgolf, either outdoors or indoors.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device that willautomatically tee a golf bail under any and all conditions encounteredin the driving of the ball, such as a wet or defective ball. In theteaching and practice of golf, a player can make greater progress whenhis attention is not distracted between drives by having to tee theball. In my automatic golf teeing device the ball is always in place onthe tee after each drive, requiring no attention whatever by the player.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for teelng agolf ball that is automatic. When the ball is removed from the tee acycle of operation is commenced, automatically bringing the next ballinto place on the tee. The cycle of operation is started by the removalof the ball from the tee, the weight of the ball controlling theoperation of the machine.

Another object of my invention is the provision of means within theteelng device for adjusting the height of the ball to meet therequirements of different types of clubs used by the player.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyrendering the device inoperative when the supply of golf balls has beenexhausted.

And another object of the invention is to provide a golf ball teelngdevice whose working mechanism will be at complete rest, except duringthe teelng operation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a principleof operation that will protect the machine from damage by the playersclub head at all times.

Another object of the invention is to provide a driving mat for coveringthe machine that will approach the resiliency of an ordinary turf andthat will reduce the shock of the club to a minimum while driving theball from the tee.

These and other incidental objects will be apparent in the drawing,specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of my new and improved automaticgolf ball teelng device.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view, having the driving mat removed andparts broken away for convenience of illustration.

side elevation of the golf ball teelng mechanism, parts broken away forconvenience of illustration, the tee in this ligure is shown in loweredposition ready to raise the ball to driving position.

Figure 4 is a detailed enlarged perspective view of the tee assembly.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan sectional view, taken on line 5-5 ofFigure 3 of the tee mechanism.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional detailed View of the ball stopmechanism, taken on line 6 6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is an end sectional view, taken on line '1 -'i of Figure l,looking in the direction indicated, illustrating the tee raising andlowering mechanism, consisting of the motor, gear reduction and one ofthe switch control mechanisms.

Figure 8 is a detailed sectional view of a preferred form of bearingsupport for mounting the operating cross shaft.

Figure 9 is a detailed sectional view of a friction control mechanismfor governing adjustable height of the ball.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatical layout of the principles employed forcontrolling the operation of the teelng device, including the wiringcircuit and illustrating the ball in driving position.

Figure 11 is the same as Figure 10, except that the ball has beenremoved from the tee and the machine has started a cycle of operation.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the teelng device in connection witha hopper and dispensing machine for supplying the balls to the tee.

Referring to the drawings:

My new and improved automatic golfball teelng device is indicated ingeneral by numeral I. The device consists of a suitable framework 2,supporting an upper frame 3, upon which is mounted the driving mat.Mounted within the frame is a vertical housing 4 within which operatesthe tee assembly mechanism 5. The housing 4 is held in position by thecross frame 4A, upon which rests the flange or bracket 4E, said flangeforming part of the housing 4, suitable fastening means as bolts 4B holdthe ange to the cross frame 4A. A stud bolt 4C extends from the lowerend of the housing 4 into the cross frame 4D and is adjusted by suitablelock nuts.

The tee assembly is illustrated in Figure 1 in the raised positionteelng the golf ball 8. An arm 1 is fixedly mounted to the cross shaft8, the cross shaft 8 is journaled within the bearings 9, which aresecured to the framework 2 by the cap Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlargedsectional 55 screw 9A, as illustrated in Figure 8. The teelng fasteningmeans.

assembly is connected to the end II of the arm 1 through the bearingblock I0 and the link I2, the assembly is held in raised positionthrough the action of the arm 1, link I2 and by the tension spring I3,the upper end of the spring I3 is supported by a suitable bracket I4,which is secured to a cross member I5 of the framework of the device.The lower end of the tension spring I3 is connected to an adjustablescrew-eye I6, which is adjustably mounted to the arm 1, providing foraccurate adjustment-of spring I3.-

I will now describe in detail the tee assembly mechanism. A speciallyconstructed body member I1 works vertically up and down within thehousing 4, its position being "cbntrolled by the operation of the arm 1.This body portion is constructed rectangular in cross section, best i1-lustrated in Figure 5, so that only the corners I8 bear against theinner wall of the housing 4, preventing dirt or grit from binding orsticking the tee assembly mechanism within the housing 4 in itsoperation. It is very importan that no play develop within the housing 4in relation to the tee assembly. In order to overcome any vibrationsthat might be developed between the housing and the tee assembly aspring I1A is xedly mounted to the lower part of the body member I1 atI1B, the upper end I1C riding against the inner wall of the housing 4absorbing any vibrations developed by the tee assembly.

vA specially constructed flexible rubber tee I8 is mounted to thevertical shaft 20, by any suitable The shaft 20 works freely within theguide 2| and is retained within the guide by the set screw extendingwithin the groove 23 of the shaft 28. An electrical switch assembly 24is mounted within the body member I1 and is easily removed therefrom. Acompression member 25 is slidably mounted within the lower end of thebody member I1 and bears against the under surface of the switch 24,holding the same in place by the spring 28, said spring 26 is maintainedin position by the holding screw 23, tapped within the lower end of thebody member I1.

A metal boss 28 registers within the hole 29 of the guide 2| holding theswitch plunger 30 in line with the tee shaft 20. The plunger 30 extendsthrough the boss 28, and is connected to the switch operating mechanism24, the plunger is held in raised position by a spring 55 within theswitch assembly, best illustrated in the wiring diagram in Figure 10.The operation of the switch mechanism 24 is controlled by the weight ofthe ball, the weight of the ball forcing the tee and shaft 28 downwardagainst the plunger 38, which in turn overcomes the spring 55 within theswitch, opening the electric circuit to be delscribed more fully later.

As stated before the tee assembly is held in raised position by thespring I3 raising the end II of the operating arm 1, best illustrated inFigure 1. In order to lower the tee assembly mechanism the end 32 of thearm 1 is raised by the cam roller 33, which is journaled to a wheel 34,the wheel 34 is journaled to a suitable base 35 by the cross shaft 38,said shaft is driven by a speed reducing unit 31 and motor 38.'

Referring to Figure 1, the end 32 of the operatend of the rod has aright angle bar 43, providing a stop for the end 44 of the operatingarm 1. The knob 45 determines the height of the stop 43, which in turncontrols the downward travel of the end 44 ofthe arm 1, controlling theheight of the ball to be teed. The friction stop 42 consists of a ball42A, bearing against the vertical rod 4I, by an adjustable springtension 42B, controlled by the adjusting screw 42C.

The golf balls 46 are fed into the device by a chute 41, from anydesired direction. These balls are delivered from the chute 41 to thechute 48, the chute 48 is mounted to the cross shaft 48 on its one end,having its opposite end 50 resting upon the plunger 5I of an electricalswitch 52. When' there are one or more golf balls resting on the chute48, their weight will force the plunger 5I, of the switch 52, 4downwardclosing an electrical'circuit, which will be described later. In theevent that there are no golf balls on this chute the plunger 5I will beallowed to rise, due to a spring 52A within the switch assembly 52,opening an electrical circuit. The spring mechanism within the switchassembly 52 may be assisted by an auxiliary spring 53 secured to theframework of the device and to the chute 48 at 54.

I will now describe a cycle of operation of my new and improved golfball teelng device, and referring especially to Figure 10. When the ball8 is removed from the tee I9, a spring 55 within the switch 24 raisesthe tee I8 and the vertical shaft 28, tilting the switch bar 58sufficient to close the contact 58, completing an electrical circuitthrough the motor 38, from the supply line 51, conductor 58, switch bar59, conductor 5I) through the switch 52 by way of the switch bar 66 andback to the supply line.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, when the above circuit is completed themotor 38 will rotate the wheel 34 in the direction of the arrow,bringing the cam roller 33 in contact with the end 32 of the operatingarm 1, raising the end 32 of the arm and lowering the opposite end II,forcing the tee assembly to be lowered within the housing 4. When thishappens the golf ball B2 will roll into the position illustrated inFigure 3, directly over the tee I 3 resting on the opening 62A. Beforethe tee I 9 starts upward again, due to the cam roller 33 passing overtop center and allowing the arm 1 to raise the tee assembly by thespring I3,vv a second electric circuit will be completed to keep themotor 38 running, completing the cycle of operation. When the tee I8commenced to raise the ball 62, the switch 24 opened the circuitdescribed above,.but before this happened a second circuit had beencompleted in the following manner.

Referring to Figure 10, it will be noted that a switch 83 is operated bya. cam surface 64 formed on the outer periphery of the wheel 34. Thisswitch is normally open while the device is at rest and the ball is inteed position, but after the switch 24 has caused the motor to drive thewheel 34 a sufficient distance the cam 64 will permit the switch bar 63Bto close, by allowing its operating plunger 85 to drop off the end ofthe cam 64, as illustrated in Figure 11, closing the switch contacts63A, the switch 63 will thus complete an electric circuit through themotor 38, conductor 63C, switch 83, conductor 63D, motor 38 and back tothe supply conductor 51, before the switch 24 is opened by the raisingof the tee I8 under the ball 82. The switch mechanism 63 will thencomplete the cycle of operation bringlng the wheel34 to the positionshown in Figures 1- and 10, allowing the spring I3 to raise the teeassembly to the position illustrated in Figure 1. A master switch 62 isprovided for stopping the operation of the entire device when the last*-switch bar 88 completing a circuit through the indicating signal light69, which is usually 1 0- cated relative to the supply hopper, whichindicates to the player that more balls will be required to continueplaying.

.In' order to allow for smooth operation of` the tee within its verticalhousing 4, and to prevent the supply of 'golf balls 46 from causing toomuch pressure against the tee, a stop 16 allows but one ball to enterthe receiving chamber 83 at one time.; The stop is secured to the crossshaft 1| at 12. The cross shaft 1I is `iournaled within bearings 13within the frame of the machine. A crank 14 is xedly mountedto the shaft1I and is connected to a bell crank 15 through the connecting link 16,when the ball is in the position shown in Figure 1 the bell crank 15holds the stop 19 out of engagement with the balls 48, through theaction of the crank 11, which is iixedly mounted to the cross shaft 8 ofthe operating arm 1.

The bell crank 15 and the crank 11 are connected together by the link18, the end 19 of the link operates within a slot 88. When the end Il ofthe arm 1 is in the raised position, the crank 11 is also in its highestposition, forcing the link 18 upwardly rocking the bell crank 15 in adirection to pull the link 18 to the right, raising the stop 10. A veryslight movement downward on the end of the operating arm II will permitthe stop 10 to be lowered its full distance holding the golf balls 48back until the ball 62 is teed. The spring 8| provides the power forholding the stop 10 against the balls 46. Further travel downward of thearm 1 will not aifect the bell crank 15, as it has been stopped by thestop 82, and the link 18 is allowed to work in the slot 80.

The driving mat 40 is constructed in the following manner: A resilientcovering material 86 is secured to the plate 81, said plate 81 is ofrigid construction, as for instance metal. The outer edge of the plate81 rests upon the cushion material 88, preferably of sponge rubber,thecushion rests on the ledge 85 of the upper frame 9. A spacer 89 isprovided underneath the plate 81, this spacer is made ofdeadeningmaterial and is for the purpose of centering the mat 40 withinthe cushion support 88. 'I'he cushion 88 absorbs the shocks transmittedto the driving mat 40 by the players club heads in driving the ball fromthe tee.

In reviewing the operation briey'of the device, when the ball wasremoved from the tee I9, the electric switch 24 was closed starting themotor driving mechanism, operating the arm 1 positively against thetension spring I3 lowering the switch 24 controlled by the'tee wasopened by the weight of the ball 82, at the same time the. additionalballs 48 were held in retarded position while the ball 82 was beingteed.

I do not wishto be limited to this particular mechanical assembly, asother forms of mechanical embodiment may bevemployed, still comingwithin the scope of the claims to follow.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A golf ball teeing device including a frame seated in the recess inthe playing area, a vertical housing secured in the frame, a golf ballsupportl in the housing, a tee reclprocated vertically of the housing toengage and elevate the golf ball from the support in the upward movementof the tee and carried to a position above the playing area, the teemoving to 'a position below the support and free of the golf ballresting thereon at the downward -limit of the tee, a L

guide movable in the housing below the support, a shaft depending fromthe teeand movable in the guide, a rod connected to the guidefor'reciprocating the guide and tee, a motor for moving the rod in onedirection, a spring for moving the rod in the opposite direction, aswitch carried by the guidea circuit controlled by the switch forenergizing the motor, means for moving the tee upwardly for alimiteddistance when released of the Weightof the ball 'resting thereon, andmeans controlled by this limited upward movement of the tee for closingthe switch.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1 including a second normally openmotor circuit controlling switch, and means on the motor for' closingthe second switch to maintain the motor circuit when the rst mentionedswitch is opened in the downward movement of the tee.

3. A construction as defined in claim 1 including a controlling switchfor the motorrcircuit normally closed by a ball in the chute in positionto be delivered to the support, said switch automatically opening in theabsence of such ball to'prevent operation of the device when no ball isin position to be delivered by the tee. J

4. A golf ball supporting tee comprising a frame seated in a recess inthe playing area, a vertical housing carried by the frame, a golf teecapable of reciprocation in the housing, and

movable to an operative position to project a golf ball for driving, orto inoperative position within the housing, means in the housing forsupporting a golf ball in line with the tee and above the upper end ofthe tee when the latter is in an inoperative position', an element forreciprocating the tee, electrically operated means for moving theelement, a switch carrying member movable with the tee and including aswitch for controlling the electrically operated means, said switchbeing operated by the tee under the weight of a golf ball thereon toclose the circuit and opened inthe absence of the weight of the golfball to break the circuit when the tee is in inoperative position, and aswitch for interrupting the circuit in the absence of a golf ball in thehousing in line with the tee.

5. A construction as dened in claim 1 wherein the housing is ofcylindrical form and wherein the guide is of rectangular form having adiameter dimension corresponding to the diameter of the housing wherebythe guide has corner bearing only on the housing.

6. A construction as dened in claim 1 wherein the housing is ofcylindrical form and wherein the guide is of rectangular form having adiameter dimenision corresponding to the diameter of the housing wherebythe guide has corner bearing only on the housing. and a spring carriedby the guide to engage the housing to prevent undue wear and play of theguide in the housing.

7. A golf-ball teeing device including a frame, a vertical housing inthe frame, a golf ball tee movable in the housing, a motor for operatingthe tee, a chute for delivering golf balls to the tee. said chuteincluding a movable section responsiveto the weight of a golf ball, anormally-open circuit for controlling the motor, a

switch for closing the circuit responsive to a predetermined limitedmovement of the tee, and a switch for controlling the circuit andoperated by the movement oi' the movable section o! the.

chute, said latter switch `being openedV in the absence of a ball in themovable chute section and preventing any circuit control by the ilrstmentioned switch. I

8. A construction as deiined in claim "I, inl,

the motor. 10. A construction as dened in claim 9,

delivering to the tee, and the third controlled by wherein the openingA0i the second switch prevents any circuit*4 control by eitherthe nrstor third switch.

11. A construction as defined in vclaim 9, wherein the third switch iseectiye to control the motor circuit only following operation of thefirst switch.

12. A golf ball teeing device, comprising a frame seated in a recess ina playing area, a vertical housing carried by said frame below theplaying area, a rubber tee movable vertically in the housing, means forreciprocating the tee longitudinally of the housing to a position tosupport the goli' ball in driving position above the playing area. meansilxed to the housing to support and center the golf ball above thelowermost position ofand in line with the tee, a ball magazine `and anindependent -element for insuring delivery of the golf balls singly fromthe magazine to the supporting means. and means for reciprocating thegolf tee to Acorrespondingly govern the ball delivery element.

13. A construction as defined in claim 12, in-

l cluding a motor and'motor'circuit for actuating, the golfteeingreciprocating means, a switch in said circuit carried by thehousing-carried means for supporting the golf ball, said switch beingcontrolled by an independent element for delivering golf balls from themagazine.

14. A construction as dened iniclaim 12, wherein the independent elementfor the delivery ofthe golf balls singly from the magazine includes apivotally'supported chute having a delivery end terminating above thehousing-carried ball -supporting means and free of the ball inthemovement of the latter on the tee.v i

`JOE MOZEL.

